


Change of Plans

by xxenjoy



Series: Winter Prompts 2k20 [8]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Snowed In, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED, ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27987969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxenjoy/pseuds/xxenjoy
Summary: Geralt finally asks Jaskier to come to Kaer Morhen with him, only for them to get snowed in at the last town before the mountain pass.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Winter Prompts 2k20 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036359
Comments: 7
Kudos: 141





	Change of Plans

**Author's Note:**

> Please someone remind me to re-write this fic when I am not busy because I have SO MANY THOUGHTS for it!!  
> Thanks to [In_love_with_writing002](https://in-love-with-writing002.tumblr.com/) over on tumblr for the idea! <3  
> Follow this series on [tumblr](https://witcher-and-his-bard.tumblr.com/tagged/winter-prompt-challenge-2k20)!

Everything starts with a question. One Jaskier suspects has been a long time coming. 

They're sitting around the fire, Geralt sharpening his swords and Jaskier fumbling through the intro to his newest ballad. His fingers are too cold to be able to play it properly, but he's determined to get it finished so he can play it at the Solstice celebration in Oxenfurt this year. Last year Valdo had had a brand new song and Jaskier won't let himself be showed up again. So he plays through the cold and the numbness and Geralt's looks that are growing in frequency. 

He hasn't said anything, so he can't be too upset about it, but the fifth time Jaskier restarts the song from the beginning, Geralt sighs and turns to him. 

"It's getting cold," he says and Jaskier just looks at him. If he's only just noticing this, his Witcher senses must not be all they're cracked up to be. 

"Yes," Jaskier agrees, a little sharply as he lifts his fingers to breathe some semblance of motion into them. 

"I mean it's getting close to... that time of the year."

"Ah." That time of the year being when they separate for the winter. Jaskier doesn't like to think about it; he doesn't mind thinking ahead to his time in Oxenfurt and the celebrations, but the idea of leaving Geralt is rather unwelcome and he tries to avoid it as long as possible. Looking up at the sky, he sighs. He didn't think it was getting that cold. 

"And I thought-" 

Jaskier's eyes snap back down to Geralt's immediately and he struggles to control his heartbeat because he knows Geralt can hear it and he doesn't need him thinking he's jumping to conclusions, which he is. A little. But that's beside the point. 

He doesn't dare say anything as Geralt looks straight ahead at the fire and fidgets with the rag in his hands. 

"What I mean," Geralt corrects and Jaskier nearly crawls out of his skin in his impatience, "is that winter seems to be coming sooner this year and I should be heading north before the valley snows over."

"Right," Jaskier says, alarmed by his own breathlessness. But Geralt doesn't seem to be finished quite yet and when he glances up at him, Jaskier holds his breath. 

"Would you- I mean- I thought it might be better if-" Geralt's fingers clench around the fabric in his hands and Jaskier wants to go to him, to assure him whatever he has to say is perfectly fine, but he can barely breathe in anticipation. He tries his best not to make assumptions, but he can't imagine what else would be this difficult for Geralt to ask. "Come with me?" 

Jaskier's heart soars and it takes a lot more effort than he'd care to admit to keep from crying like a fool where he sits across from Geralt. 

"Are you certain?" he asks. The last thing he wants to do is intrude on Geralt's family over the winter, especially if the invitation is somehow coerced. Geralt gives a curt nod and his lips twitch at the corner and it's a miracle Jaskier's body doesn't just drop out from under him. 

He could cry, scream, laugh, but he doesn't want Geralt to regret his decision, so he just smiles across at him. 

"I would be honoured."

In the morning, they make a plan to set out a week from now. It's long enough to reach town and gather supplies and find a horse for Jaskier that's capable of making the journey through the valley. The closest city is Hagge, but travelling there would mean backtracking and wasting time they don't have to spare, so instead, they start north. Geralt promises him that there's a town north of Ard Carraigh where he and his brothers stop to stock up for the trip, and as long as they make it there, they'll be fine. 

But because Jaskier's never travelled in the winter and because he's excited about going to Kaer Morhen for the first time, things, inevitably, are not fine.

They're only two days out when the blizzard hits in the middle of the day. 

It starts as light snow, so neither Geralt nor Jaskier thinks much of it, but as the day progresses so does the storm until they can barely see a foot in front of their faces. Well, Jaskier can't but he suspects not even Witchers can see through snow. He pushes on as well as he can - Geralt already feels guilty for making him walk through the night - but by the time he can see light again, Jaskier's boots are soaked through and he can barely feel his toes. He doesn't complain because he doesn't want Geralt thinking he can't make the trip, but he knows he's slowing them down. 

That night, Geralt finds shelter in a crumbling building that might have once been a watchtower. It's dark and it's cold and without a fire, the only thing they have to eat are the preserves at the bottom of their bags. But when Geralt pulls him into his lap and wraps a blanket around the both of them, holding him close, Jaskier can't find much to complain about. 

They reach the little town late the following night and Jaskier is dead on his feet, so he's relieved to find the innkeeper is quite friendly, if not familiar, with Geralt. For once, he takes a step back and lets Geralt organize lodgings for them while he struggles to keep his eyes open. 

Eventually, Geralt leads him up to a room with a single bed and lets Jaskier drop onto it while he putters around the room, organizing their things. 

"What are you doing?" Jaskier mumbles, already tugging a pillow under his head. His wet feet dangle over the edge of the bed and Geralt comes over to kneel next to him, tugging Jaskier's boots from his feet. 

"We'll be here for at least a couple of days," he explains, "we might as well settle in."

"Thought we were going north? Up to the keep?"

"We are," Geralt assures him, "but we won't make it through the storm. We'll wait here until it passes and see what the valley is like then."

Jaskier doesn't like the sound of that one bit, but he's too tired to argue. Even when Geralt pulls him to his feet, he doesn't complain. He wavers slightly as he strips out of his wet clothes, but he can hardly be blamed when he's barely slept in the past few days. When he's stripped down to his braies and as dry as he's going to get, he slips back into bed, shuffling toward the wall to make space for Geralt. He falls asleep before Geralt even makes it to the bed.

In the morning, there is snow up to the windowsills and it still hasn't stopped snowing. Jaskier's spirits are dampened slightly, but he slips out of bed before Geralt wakes and orders breakfast to take back to the room in an attempt to cheer them both up. It works for a little while, but the snow picks up again in the afternoon. 

By the third day, Jaskier has resigned himself to staying in this little no-name village over the winter. It's not Kaer Morhen with all its history or Oxenfurt with its lively parties, but he's here with Geralt and really that's all that matters. He is a little disappointed, but Geralt made the offer to take him north, so maybe they can revisit that next year. 

That evening, Geralt goes down to discuss the room with the innkeeper and Jaskier takes the chance to look around a little. For a small town, the inn is particularly well-kept and there's even a small fireplace in their room with a stack of wood next to it. They have plenty of blankets and candles and even a few sparse decorations to brighten the place up a little. Jaskier would like to go out into the forest and make a wreath of his own, but he suspects Geralt would be against going out into the storm, so the decorations in place will have to do. 

Maybe one year, he'll invite Geralt to Oxenfurt and show him a real celebration, but for this year, under the circumstances, the inn is fine. 

Geralt returns after a short while, plopping down next to him on the bed. 

"The innkeeper says we're welcome to stay as long as we like if you'll play for the other guests in the evenings."

"You know I'm always happy to entertain." Jaskier smiles but Geralt remains silent and his expression falls. "You'll miss them, won't you? Your brothers?"

"I don't see them every year," Geralt says but Jaskier knows he's dodging the question. 

"What do you think they'll do then? Over the winter?"

"Eskel might already be up at the keep. He's sometimes early to help clear out the library. Lambert, I don't know. Last I heard he was travelling with someone, so maybe they'll spend the winter together." 

Before he can think better of it, Jaskier reaches out, sliding his hand over Geralt's knee. Geralt's head jerks up to look at him, but he doesn't move. 

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Geralt. I'm sure they're holed up somewhere nice and warm and nowhere near the storm." Geralt gives him a look of disbelief, but Jaskier just smiles encouragingly.

As it turns out, they're both right. His brothers are holed up somewhere nice and warm for the winter. Or they were until the farmer whose barn they were sleeping in decided he'd had quite enough of the noise. Which is how, in the middle of Jaskier's set one night, he finds himself choking on his own words as three grouchy Witchers pile into the inn. 

Geralt is upstairs, but Jaskier would know them anywhere. It's fairly hard to mistake a Witcher. He knows only two of them are Geralt's brothers, but he assumes the third is the one he mentioned was travelling with Lambert. As soon as he sees them, he jumps from his makeshift stage and hurries over to them. 

"Gentlemen!" He cries, "we've been worried about you. Thought you might be lost in the storm somewhere." The attention of the entire inn is on them as Jaskier beams up at the men. The bigger of the three - Eskel, he thinks, judging by the scar - gives him an odd look, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. 

"Don't tell me you're Geralt's bard?" he asks. 

"I am!" Jaskier exclaims and a knowing look settles over the witchers. "Come in," he says and ushers them into the main room and down the hall. 

It's not until Jaskier has all of them in the room and is looking between Geralt and the other three that he realizes he's made a very big mistake. Yes, he was looking forward to meeting the other Witchers and spending the winter with them, but he was also looking forward to having some time alone with just Geralt which is certainly not going to happen with three other Witchers sharing their room. 

If nothing else, at least it will be an interesting winter.


End file.
